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When you think of fashion week you think New York or Milan. While New York is undoubtedly an epicenter of fashion, Washington has its own distinct style and its fashion week features international designs from all over the world.

“In terms of functional clothing, Washingtonians stick to a work uniform,” says Ean Williams, founder and organizer of DC Fashion Week, now in its ninth year. “That’s what the world sees. They only see us at work. We’re making policy that changes the world. But go to any happy hour and watch how people change their wardrobe at the bars.”

Over the course of last week, about 50 designers showed spring looks for both work and play. Designers included local designers like Svelte Couture and Heydari and international designers from Nigeria, India and Thailand. For some designers this was a premiere of their fashions in a fashion week but many have shown their creations at fashion weeks in New York, Miami and other shows around the world.

While the shows during the week focused on emerging designers, the finale show at the Embassy of France is the most celebrated each year. Sharon Brown of Svelte Courture was excited to premiere at DC Fashion week and said "the opportunity to showcase in the nation's capital amongst International designers was an honor". Sally Intiago, a 17-year-old from Nigeria and the youngest designer in DC Fashion Week this year, premiered her designs with her namesake. While she was excited to be in the United States, she was clear that she did not want to move here and wanted to focus on her international base and ultimately design clothes for celebrities.

DC Fashion Week has shows in February and Septemebr of each year. Visit www.dcfashionweek.org for more info!